Strange Fire (John MacArthur) (Selected Scriptures)

seem like a minor matter. To the carnal, casual, self-indulgent and frivolous generation like ours it may seem that this is really a severe overreaction. Well, why does God care where the

fire

came from? It is not a minor detail? There may have been more than that, however. For God it was not a minor detail and there may have been more. The fact that Aaron is instructed in verse 9 not to drink wine or strong drink may indicate that they were actually drunk. They had no control of their thoughts. And this led to their blasphemous disregard for the prescription that God had ordained.

The same

fire

that lit the sacrifice in 9:24 burned them in chapter 10. This is sobering and terrifying. It is reminiscent of God killing Ananias and Sapphira in front of the congregation in Acts 5 because they lied to the Holy Spirit about how much money they got when they sold their property. That might also seem like a bit of an overreaction to a casual, carnal culture, or a very overreaction. But let me make it simple for you. The gravest crimes against God occur in corrupt worship. The gravest signs, the gravest crimes against God, occur in corrupt worship. Go back, so to speak, just for a minute to Exodus chapter 32, Exodus chapter 32.

I have so many things to say, let's speed up and go a little faster here. But I know you remember the story from chapter 32 of Exodus because it is the story of the golden calf. Verse 4 of that chapter, this is Aaron now who has directed this. "He took from their hands, fashioned it with a carving instrument, and made it into a molten calf; - "all the gold that the people had brought" - and they said, 'This is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.' "The golden calf was a false representation of the true God.

And the people, as we are told in verse 6, “rose up, offered burnt offerings, peace offerings; “He sat down to eat and drink, he got up to play.” They were worshiping the true God in a false form, transforming the glory of God into a blasphemous image and misrepresentation. And you know how the story went. It was a disaster for them. There was a mass killing. People died on the spot. One brother rose up against another with a sword and hacked to death his own relative, fulfilling God's command to punish worshipers who had corrupted worship. I just want to repeat that again.

The gravest crimes ever committed against God are committed in corrupt worship. That brings us to the point where we must say that the charismatic movement continually dishonors God with false forms of worship of Him. Dishonor the Father. Dishonors the Son. But more specifically, it dishonors the Holy Spirit. Irreverent ideas, irreverent actions, false beliefs, false statements, false promises, carnal behaviors, all these things are attributed to the Holy Spirit, but it is a dishonor to Him that they are even identified with his name. It is a

strange

r fire and the sad thing is that it is a reason for judgment, it is a reason for judgment.

When I talked about this a few months ago at our church, I said, "It's that serious." Jesus said to the Jewish leaders: "You have attributed to Satan the works of the Holy Spirit that I have done." In other words, they said that Jesus did what he did by the power of Satan, Matthew 12, and he said, "You have attributed the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan." It is fair to say that in many places in the charismatic movement the opposite has happened. They are attributing the works of Satan to the Holy Spirit. They had once attributed the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan.

Now it's the other way around. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the triune God should not be trifled with. It is dangerous for all who offer

strange

fire. It is dangerous for all who offer corrupt worship. It is dangerous to declare things that the Holy Spirit has not done, has not said, in which he would not participate as works of the Holy Spirit. That is no small matter. It is a radical seriousness in dishonoring the Holy Spirit that apparently escapes these people. The other day I was observing behavior among Hindus who are part of what is called the Kundalini cult, the Kundalini cult.

They have certain body movements that perhaps seem to be better explained by demonic possession. And they are absolutely identical body movements to those of the people of the charismatic movement in the extreme behaviors that we see in the so-called revivals. This is paganism. This is the work of Satan. This is the work of the kingdom of darkness and should not be attributed to the Holy Spirit. It's something tragic. In some ways it's so ridiculous you could laugh at it. Frankly, it is a tragic and agonizing irony that those who claim to be the most devoted to the Holy Spirit, those who claim to have control over His power, those who claim to be experiencing His presence, are following patterns that blaspheme His name, and that are the the same as those who deal with demons.

Attributing to the Holy Spirit works that He did not do, words that He did not say, experiences that He is not the author of is a very serious crime, a very serious crime. Somehow, charismatics have thrown their fantasies into the strange fire of mystical experience and demonic power, and worship the false god that arose. Am I discrediting everyone in the movement? No. I believe there are people in the movement who desire to worship God in a true way. They may also be trapped in this false worship, because intention is not enough. The movement itself - listen carefully - offers nothing to true worship.

Can I say that again? The movement itself has not given us anything that enriches true worship. Why do I say that? Because the charismatic movement as such has not contributed to biblical clarity. He has made no contribution to biblical interpretation. He has made no contribution to sound doctrine. We have had accurate biblical interpretation long before the charismatic movement began. We have had solid doctrine long before the charismatic movement arose. From the constant stream of faithful men, to the apostles, we have had a clear stream of truth that gives us a full and rich understanding of the Word of God.

That's why a Christian today can go back and read the apostles, and then go back and read the Reformers, and read the Puritans, and follow the flow of truth through history, and find richness, understanding, and clarity. on each topic. going all the way back. They didn't add anything to that. They brought chaos, confusion, misrepresentations and misunderstandings. Do some in the charismatic movement believe the truth? They do. They do. Do some in the charismatic movement maintain a sound theology on some issues? They do. But none of those true understandings have come to you through that movement. The true understandings have always been there in the long line of godly preachers and teachers that God has used to guard the truth and keep the church on the right path.

The movement adds nothing to that. It detracts and confuses. It is not a source for any advancement in our understanding of Scripture or sound doctrine. Have people truly been saved in charismatic churches and under the preaching of charismatic preachers? Answer: Yes, they have, but nothing from that movement has been the reason they were saved. The gospel is the reason they were saved, and it was not invented by that movement. In some places it is still intact. In some it is not. Nothing coming from the charismatic movement has provided recovery or strengthening of the biblical gospel. Nothing coming from the charismatic movement has preserved truth and sound doctrine.

It has only produced distortion, confusion and error. The faith of the biblical gospel has remained intact. Has survived. It will survive because God protects it and raises up faithful men in faithful churches to pass it on from generation to generation. Yes, there are people in the charismatic movement who know the truth, who love the truth, who are orthodox in the gospel and heterodox in the Holy Spirit. Not all are heretics. But I repeat, the contribution of truth to the people of the movement does not come from the movement. It comes despite it. But on the other hand, the charismatic movement is loaded with non-Christians, people who don't know God, people who are involved for carnal reasons, carnal desires and emotional experiences.

I am grateful for those who know the truth and are faithful to the truth, but I fear that the vast majority are in the dark. And this is the biggest deception of all. The mass of people that you see in Matthew chapter 7, which are many, many, who say to me, "I did this in Your name, I did that in Your name, I have preached in Your name, I performed miracles in Your name." name." And Jesus says to them, "Depart from me," what? " - I never knew you." This is a prophecy, certainly in one sense of this movement.

I glorify God for His grace toward sinners who are in those churches and under those influences, and God has allowed the truth to reside in some of those environments. And I give him the glory for that grace that is given to sinners who are in those churches. It is possible to become a believer despite the movement. , but no thanks to him. All over the world, my great fear is that people are lost, lost in the movement, pursuing carnal desires and false promises, with little or no understanding or interest in the true gospel, true repentance, the true Christ and the true salvation.

No movement supposedly based on an orthodox gospel has done more damage to the church than this movement, no movement. As I said, there are only 14 million Mormons. The damage that 500 million people can do. to an orthodox understanding of Scripture and divine truth is monumental, and I fear its success comes not from its connection to truth, but from its connection to the kingdom of darkness. It succeeds because it promises what unregenerate sinners already want. Evangelicalism has opened its arms and welcomed the Trojan Horse of the charismatic movement into the city of God, and its troops have taken control and placed an idol in the city of God, not the truth.

Is there anything more serious than this? There can't be. On the contrary, Reformed theology, sound doctrine, is not a refuge for false teachers. It is not where false teachers reside. Reformed theology, sound doctrine, and faithful Bible exposition among the long line of godly men is no place for false teachers. That's not where frauds go. That's not where greedy deceivers end up. That is not where you find liars and those who distort the truth. You are not going to go to an association of Reformed churches - those who believe in the doctrines of the reformation that take us back to the doctrines of the New Testament - and find false miracles, false visions, false prophecies, false anointings, strange and stupid pandemonium broke out. .

You won't find people shaking, babbling, rolling, falling and saying strange things about the Holy Spirit. That will not happen in that environment because they are anchored to the truth. Once experience, emotion, and intuition become the definition of what is true, all hell breaks loose. In 1657, John Owen wrote an analysis of communion with God in a classical manner. The Puritans used to do this. This is the title of his book. Here is the title, Of communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each person distinctly in love, grace and comfort. That's a concise title, don't you think?

Or, he says, here's another title. The communion of the saints with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit develops. This book by John Owen is a treasure, because it deals with the Trinitarian communion. And Owen shows how our fellowship is with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and how we receive and respond to each individual person in the Trinity. Our covenant relationship is tied to each member of the trinity. Our relationship is initiated by the Father, it is ratified by the Son, it is communicated by the Holy Spirit. The Father expresses divine and sovereign love.

The Son expresses divine and sovereign grace. The Holy Spirit dispenses divine and sovereign life. We are (should be) engaged in the full worship of the Holy Spirit, celebrating all that God has done in initiation, all that the Son has done in validation, and all that the Spirit has done, so to speak, in consecration. , the actual act of saving and sanctifying us. What is the work of the Holy Spirit? He condemns. He regenerates. He justifies it. He illuminates. He cleans. He becomes. He sanctifies. He adopts. He baptizes. He dwells in us. He endows. He empowers. The guide.

The delivery. He produces fruit. He assures us. This is what the Scripture says. And what it doesn't say is this: The Holy Spirit knocks us down. The Holy Spirit makes us laugh in a silly way. The Holy Spirit increases the heat of our body. The Holy Spirit gives us hiccups. The Holy Spirit gives us convulsions, puts us in a stupor, makes us look drunk, makes us fall, speak gibberish, make primal sounds, jump, roll. Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. "The ministry of the Spirit," writes John Owen, "consists in remembering the promises of Christ, in glorifying Him in our hearts, in pouring out the love of God in us, in witnessing with us concerning our spiritual life." state and condition, by sealing us for the day of redemption, by being the earnest of our inheritance, by anointing us with comfort, by confirming our adoption, by being present with us in ourappeal. , to discover and encounter the Comforter and all these things so as not to lose their sweetness, but to remain in the dark as to their author, nor to fall short of the benefits that are demanded of us.

The work of the Holy Spirit remains dormant in darkness, we must recognize it and communicate with Him in gratitude for it." Owen says: "The pattern of regular communion as a believer is with the three persons of the Divinity in meditation, prayer and a properly lived life. ordered. We must dwell on each person's special mercy and ministry toward us, and make our due response of love and submission distinctly to each." This is full communion with God. God does not like to mock the Holy Spirit. Romans 12 speaks of acceptable worship. This is a priority. The highest priority. Another Puritan, Thomas Goodwin, says: "Our worship is sometimes with the Father, and then with the Son, and then with the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes his heart is inclined to consider the love of the Father in choosing, and then the love of Christ in redeeming, and then the love of the Holy Spirit in searching out the deep things of God and revealing them, and he carries all the efforts with us. .And so a man goes from one testimony to another clearly, which," says Goodwin, "I say, is the fellowship we ought to have." He further says: "We will never be satisfied until all three persons are on the same level in us, and we sit, as it were, in the midst of them while they all manifest their love to us.

This is the highest thing that Christ ever promised in this life." I love that phrase: "That all the people of the Trinity may be leveled in us, giving them equal honor." There's a warning in Hebrews 10, if you want to look at it for a minute. Hebrews 10:29, "How much greater punishment do you think he will deserve who trampled underfoot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified unclean, and dishonored the Spirit of grace?" We camped out on the first half of that verse, about there being a hotter hell for people who trample on the Son of God.

There is a hotter hell for people who trample on the Son of God. We don't like people trampling on the Son of God. For the last 25 years or so, there has been extremely important and well thought out advocacy for the gospel, organizations, institutions, coalitions, groups, I can remember from before Jim Boice went to heaven and started the Association of Confessing Evangelicals, and everyone joined in. . We have to defend Christ, defend His deity, defend His character, His nature, defend His work on the cross, defend His resurrection, defend the doctrines of justification and the panoply of great truths that are related to His work on the cross and his resurrection.

There has been a wave that has continued, and has continued, and has continued, and has continued, and perhaps has even gotten carried away a little, where now everything is to point to the cross, and everything is to look at the cross, and everything is contemplating the cross. We have defended Christ with vengeance and tireless commitment every time he is attacked. And we have practically done the same when they attack God. When some theologians came along and suggested that God didn't know the future, he couldn't plan the future, he had no idea what the future was going to be, it was called "openness theology." There was a groundswell and many scholars, writers and preachers began to gather and empower the community of evangelicalism to respond to this attack on God the Father.

But in this verse it is necessary to remember that there is a more severe punishment for those who have insulted the Spirit of grace, insulted. The verb enubrizō in Greek, the noun form is hubristēs, from which we get the English word "hubris". It means "audacity, insolence, violent insult or scandalous insult." This is the Ruach of Yahweh. This is the breath of the Almighty. This is God the Holy Spirit. While we would all agree that hell will be hotter for people who trample on the Son of God - meaning they know the truth of His life, death and provision and trample it - but the same warning is given to people who are bold and insolent and violently insult the Spirit of grace.

And the next verse says, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." And again: 'The Lord will judge his people.' "His people. "It is terrible to fall into the hands of the living God." People should be terrified, insulting the Holy Spirit, terrified. The New Testament reveals to us that the Ruach Yahweh, the breath of God, the Holy Spirit, creates life and transforms life, and purifies, comforts, and conforms sinners to Christ, and equips, strengthens, seals, secures, and enlightens. These are the things for which He is to be honored and loved. "Here is a quote. Satanism that has ever been offered is the false doctrine that once saved, always saved." Who is it that secures us forever?

Who is it that seals us forever? Who is the guarantee of our inheritance? The holy spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit is to secure us forever. This is a quote from a charismatic leader. "The greatest satanic deception ever offered is the false doctrine that once saved, always saved." work of the Holy Spirit from being the work of Satan. "By the work of the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered, everyone who is called is justified, and everyone who is justified is..." what? "-glorified", Romans 8. This is insulting the Holy Spirit. This is a dangerous thing, a dangerous thing.

Benny Hinn says this. "No, no, never ever go to the Lord and say, 'If it be your will.' "Never say that. "The action of the Holy Spirit depends on my words. He will not move until I say so." Actually? You have just seen in two quotes the Holy Spirit accused of demonic activity and his sovereignty called into question. Benny is sovereign. The Holy Spirit is not. This, by the way, comes from a false teacher who claims to have the anointing of God. By the way, that anointing is a fabricated fantasy, and he received his, he says, by visiting the graves of two dead preachers: Aimee Semple McPherson and Kathryn Kuhlman, and while he was visiting their graves, he received the anointing.

I don't want to waste time going over all the ridiculous claims they make. I just want to highlight how serious this is. Again, returning to the main point, worship of the triune God is the most fundamental of all duties and the highest of all responsibilities. In Exodus chapter 20, we are instructed about God and the first half of the commandments relate to Him, not to make a graven image. And it all ends with "Don't take the name of the Lord," what? " - in vain." Well? Taking his name in vain. What's that? It is talking about God in any irreverent way.

Talking about God in any irreverent way. It is not simply about using God's name as a bad word. It is to speak of God in any irreverent way, in any way that misrepresents him in his nature, in his attributes, in his works or in his words. Anything attributed to God that is not of God is taking his name in vain. To think of God, to conceive of God, to refer to God as something other than what He is and to assign to Him things that He would never do, words that He would never say, is to take His name in vain.

It's not just about bad words. It is ignoring what is true about God. It is distorting God. This is the most serious thing. In Deuteronomy 28:58, there are only a couple of verses. "If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law that are written in the book, and to fear this honorable and fearsome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues, even severe and Lasting plagues and miserable and chronic diseases will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you fear, and they will take the name of the Lord in vain and God will not punish you, says Deuteronomy.

I'm surprised the movement has survived the way it has. I just have to... people say to me, "Why doesn't God take these people down?" Because He is patient by nature and because I don't know His purposes. more about God's secret councils than Job. And God is not obligated to tell me everything. But I do know this. The growth of the false charismatic movement will not stay the hand of God in judgment, in God's time. We don't need a version of the golden calf of the Holy Spirit. We don't need a fake Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit revealed in the Scriptures, titled "the breath of the Almighty," "the Almighty" in Job 33, "the eternal Spirit" of Hebrews 9, "the generous Spirit" of Psalm 51, "the good Spirit" . from Psalm 143.

And then all these names: The Spirit of the Living God, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Father, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Son, the Spirit of life, the Spirit of grace, the Spirit of wisdom , spirit of counsel, power, understanding, knowledge and fear of the Lord; the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Holiness, the Spirit of Glory, the Comforter and in Luke 1, the Power of the Most High. As holy as the Father and the Son, so holy is the Spirit. As sovereign as the Father and the Son, so sovereign is the Spirit.

As powerful as the Father and the Son, so powerful is the Spirit. As merciful as the Father and the Son, so merciful is the Spirit. As loving as the Father and the Son, so loving is the Spirit. One in perfection. All of that simply leads me to say that we are here to try to call for the restoration of true worship of the Holy Spirit in the church. It's hard for me to deal with that. Zeal for the house of God, if I may borrow the words Jesus borrowed from the psalmist: "Zeal for your house devours me; the reproaches that fall upon you fall upon me." When the Holy Spirit is so dishonored, I feel the pain.

The church has risen, as I said, to defend the Father, it has risen to defend the Son. Why won't you stand up to defend the Holy Spirit? There's really no way to explain that failure. The charismatic movement has successfully demanded acceptance based on love and tolerance. That is why it has been welcomed, corrupting the church, cultivating emotionalism to the extreme, confusing people about prayer, worship, praise, faith, contentment, humility, sovereignty and a myriad of other things. And in another time, in another part of past history, they would have been rejected as heterodox or heretical. Let me finish with some thoughts and try to erase from our minds some of the negative things I forced you to think about.

There is a great tribute to the Spirit of God that I want to leave you, a great tribute, a tribute apart from all that we have spoken regarding deceivers and false teachers, and this is the greatest gift from him to us. For this I want you to turn to Romans 8, Romans 8. This is a very familiar portion of Scripture, but I want you to see it perhaps in a new light. This is his greatest work for us. We will begin in verse 26: "In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered; and he who searches hearts knows what the intention of the Lord is.

Spirit, because according to the will of God he intercedes for the saints." That refers, of course, to the Holy Spirit. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he also predestined them to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he would be the firstborn among many brothers; and those whom he predestinated, he also called; He also glorified.” Romans 8 is the Holy Spirit chapter, all about the Holy Spirit and His ministry.

It all comes down to verse 26, and “the Holy Spirit helps in our weakness, first of all, by interceding for us.” He is an intercessor as Christ is an intercessor for us. And He always intercedes according to the will of God because He knows the will of God. As a result of the intercessory work of the Holy Spirit, everything works together for our eternal good. believers, not just because God says so, but because the Holy Spirit makes sure it is so, okay? The Holy Spirit is the one who works everything for our good, everything, absolutely everything. But there is another element to this.

What is the essence of this goodness? What do you mean all things work together for good? What is the good? Verse 29, here it is. Here's the good thing. "Whom he foreknew, he predestined to be conformed to the image of his son." Now there is the supreme work of the Holy Spirit, to conform us to Christ, okay? The Holy Spirit does his work in us so that everything cooperates toward a supreme good, and that supreme good is conformity to the image of the Son of God. So that He, then, may become preeminent among many who share the likeness of Him.

So what does the Holy Spirit want to do in your life? Simply stated. Settle for who? Christ, to make you like Christ. To be conformed to the eikōn, the eikōn, the image of Christ. He works in us to make us like Jesus Christ. This is what Paul is talking about in Philippians when he says, "I press toward the goal." And you say, "Well, what's the brand?" The brand is the prize of high vocation. What is the prize when we are called to the top? We will be like Christ. What we will be when we are glorified is the goaleven now in our sanctification.

What will we be if we have been predestined, called and justified; we will be glorified. And when we are glorified, we will be made like Christ - 1 John 3 - "we will be like him, because we see him as he is." That is the ultimate goal, the Holy Spirit will take us there. In the meantime, until we are glorified and made like Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit is to conform us more and more to his image. So to understand his work, we must look to Christ. We need to look to Christ, because we are going to see in Christ, who is fully man, a picture of the perfect work of the Holy Spirit.

How did the Holy Spirit work in Christ? Did he knock him down? Did he make him look drunk? Did he make you fall, collapse, roll, or laugh hysterically, bark, babble, or talk nonsense? It's strange to think about something like that. And people who force other people to do things that are not filled with the Spirit. That's not what the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit was the constant companion of Jesus, the constant companion of Jesus. It was the Spirit of God who gave him life in Mary's womb. The Son of God emptied himself of his divine prerogatives, voluntarily submitting to the will of the Father in the power of the Spirit.

Jesus restricted his independent use of divine abilities and privileges and surrendered himself to the Holy Spirit. So his life was like that. Just listen to this. According to Luke 1, he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. According to Luke, he was matured by the Holy Spirit, growing in wisdom, stature, and favor before God and man. According to Mark 1, he was anointed by the Holy Spirit at his baptism. According to Luke 4, he was sustained by the Holy Spirit in his temptation. According to that same chapter, he received power from the Holy Spirit, Luke 4:14-15, for ministry. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, so that he walked perfectly in obedience.

He was perfected by obedience, wrought in the power of the Spirit and through the suffering through which he learned obedience. Hebrews 9:14 says that he faced death triumphantly in the power of the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit who was operating in Jesus. Romans 1 says that he was resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit. Even after his resurrection, his post-resurrection ministry, according to Acts 1:1-2, was in the power of the Spirit as he taught things about the Kingdom. Now listen, the Holy Spirit was to Christ as he is to us. If you want to see the perfection of the work of the Holy Spirit in us, look at the work He did in the perfect man.

Let me come back to that for a moment. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives us life, born of the Spirit. Jesus was matured by the Holy Spirit. He is the Holy Spirit who gives us power to grow. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit in baptism. It is the Spirit by which we are baptized into the body of Christ. He was sustained by the Holy Spirit in his temptations. It is the Spirit who strengthens us in the inner man in the midst of our temptations. He was empowered by the Holy Spirit in ministry.

It is the Holy Spirit who gifts us and empowers us in ministry. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. There could be a demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit and holiness. It is the Spirit who fills us and produces fruit in us. He was perfected by the power of the Holy Spirit in obedience, and the Spirit does the same in us. He faced death triumphantly in the Spirit. It is the Spirit of grace and glory who sustains us in our suffering. He was raised from the dead by the Spirit. It is the Spirit who also lifts us up.

If you want to see the ministry of the Holy Spirit and how he works in us, look at what he did in Christ. Of course, in Christ there is a perfect fulfillment. But the Holy Spirit was to the Son of God what he is to us. The Holy Spirit has committed himself to do in us the work that he demonstrated in Christ. There is a really interesting verse in John 16, verse 7: "I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go away, he will not come to you." I will send it to you." Jesus said, "It is better for me to go, it is better for me to go." Why?

Why is it better for you to go? "Because if I go, I will send the Holy Spirit. I will send the Holy Spirit. Better because the Holy Spirit will do in you what He did in Me." That is His ministry. I have had My ministry. That is His ministry. Mine has come to an end, yours is about to be launched in its fullness. John 14:16, "I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, to be with you forever: the Spirit of truth. Verse 26: "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, he will send to you." "He will teach all things, and will remind you of all that I have said to you." This is first for the apostles who will write the New Testament, and extends further to all believers who benefit from the Holy Spirit's ministry of truth.

Chapter 15, essentially the same thing, verse 26: "When the Spirit comes - "the Comforter" - the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness of me." 16:13, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will bear witness to you." will guide to all truth; he will not speak on his own initiative; He will speak everything that he hears. He will let you know what is to come. glorify me. He will take what is mine and will let you know.” In other words, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to lead you into the truth, to reveal to you the things of Christ, so that you may be conformed to the likeness of Christ.

Just an amazing and simple reality. The Holy Spirit does in us what he did in the Son, conforming us to the very image of Christ. Jesus shows us what perfect humanity, perfect humanity, looks like. The Spirit is conforming us to Christ, strengthening God's redeemed elect, so that they may triumph in time over the power of sin, the flesh, Satan, and the world, enabling us to become more and more like the Son of God. The Holy Spirit is working in us holy knowledge, holy doctrine, holy works, holy attitudes, holy words, holy character, holy actions, holy ambitions, holy longings, holy affections.

What horrible arrogance, what an insult for Him to say that He is responsible for corruption, ungodliness and foolishness, and even demonic elements that dishonor the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit is to take corrupt image bearers who cannot glorify God in whom the divine likeness is so deeply marred that they will all die eternally and spend forever in the torment of hell with no possibility of escape, take those disfigured people and marked and restore in them the likeness of Jesus Christ. I will begin to believe that truth prevails in the charismatic movement when I see that the leaders who are the people most exposed to its principles are most like Jesus Christ.

I can see that they really are partakers of the divine nature. Father, we thank you that we have been able to meet. Thank you for these beautiful people. There is a longing in their hearts for the truth, not for its own sake, but to know You, love You, serve You, and proclaim Your Word. We know what the true work of the Holy Spirit is because You have told us. And where we see the likeness of Christ, the humility of Christ, the meekness of Christ, the gentleness of Christ, the goodness of Christ, the truthfulness of Christ, where we see the Word of God exalted and honored, we know that the Holy Spirit is at work . .

Where we see sacrifice, where we see love, where we see passion for the Holy Scriptures, where we see discernment and truth reign, we know that the Holy Spirit is at work. Well, we don't see that in this movement. Therefore, we cannot conclude that it is the work of the Holy Spirit. We would never attribute it to Him. We would be afraid to even think about it. Make the truth clear to them, Lord. Make the truth clear. Help us to understand so that we can be a means of helping others to understand. Thank you for everything you have done for us.

We don't feel cheated. We don't need to chase any of these silly falsehoods. We are happy because the work of the Holy Spirit is really developing in genuine believers. We are grateful to be able to experience that. It is manifested in our love for You, our love for truth, our love for God's people. These are the things produced by the Holy Spirit. Not only in what we love, but in what we hate, the hatred of error, of sin, of corruption. We are not perfect, far from it. But we love what we love and hate what we hate because of the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

We thank you for that. We bless your name. Give us a wonderful week and fulfill Your good pleasure in all of us. We pray in the name of Christ. Amen.